Flush tank



March 9,1948. s, H, MOYER HAL 2,437,435

FLUSH TANK Filed May 28, 1945 Patented Mar. 9, i948 UNITED FLUSH TANK Stanley H. Moyer, San Francisco, Calif., and Lawrence R. Jensen, Salt Lake City, Utah g Application May 28, 1945, Serial No. 596,332

6 Claims. l

The present invention relates to flush tanks and particularly to tanks such as are used in combination with toilets and the purpose of which is to store a predetermined volume of liquid, such as water, in a position to be discharged by gravity with a ilushing action through the toilet bowl or other vessel to be flushed.

Ordinarily, flush tanks include two rather intricate valve mechanisms, one of which is known as a float valve which automatically controls the entry of water into the tank. The other is called a iiush valve and is usually manually opened to permit discharge of water from the tank by gravity. The valves commonly used for these purposes are undesirable for many reasons. For example, most of the complicated mechanism Which controls their operation is immersed in water where it cannot be lubricated and where it is subject to corrosion and deposits of minerals and other impurities in the water. They are usually noisy and inefficient in operation and are necessarily so positioned that replacement and repair are inconvenient and costly.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a iiush tank which overcomes the above mentioned and other disadvantages and to provide a iiush tank which lfunctions perfectly with a minimum of mechanical or moving parts. A further object of the invention is to provide a flush tank with but two Valves of extremely sianple construction for controlling lling and discharging of the tank and in which only one of the valves is immersed in the liquid contents of the tank but controlled by pressure in the tank rather than by mechanical connections. A still further object of the invention is the provision of a. ilush tank from which the usual iioat valve is eliminated and in which the level of the liquid in the tank and the ilushing operation of the tank are both subject to control by fluid pressurewhich pressure is controlled by a very simple valve mechanism which may be hand operated. Further objects and advantages of the invention Will become apparent from an understanding of the following specication.

To simplify the disclosure of the invention, it will be described herein as applied to a tank for water used in flushing a toilet. It is not intended that this description be taken as limiting the invention to the particular form .or use mentioned as it is readily adaptable to use with other liquids and for other purposes. i

TheV drawing is a vertical sectional view of a simple form of ush tank embodying the principles of the .present invention.

2 In the drawing a nuid tight nush tank is indicated at I and may be of any desired shape dei pending upon the use to which it is to be put and the space in which it is to be installed. The tank is shown as having a removable cover II held in place by cap screws as indicated at I2 and a resilient gasket such as shown at I3 may be employed to facilitate a fluid tight joint between the cover and the tank.

Entering the tank preferably, though not necessarily, through its fbottom wall is a supply pipe I4 through which water may be introduced to its interior. This supply pipe I4 leads to the source of supply under pressure which, in the event of city use, could be the city water mains by which al1 houses and buildings are usually served. While the pipe I4 does not contain a valve, it may lcontain any suitable pressure regulating means if desired or flow restricting means to limit the pressure of water entering the tank I0 or to regulate the time required for lling the tank to capacity. Whatever such means are used in conjunction with the pipe I 4, however, it should always remain open for communicating pressure to the interior of the tank I0.

A discharge or flush pipe I5 is also connected with the tank I0 preferably at its lbottom and, where the ilush tank is being used in conjunction with a toilet, this ilush pipe I5 will be joined with the toilet bowl in order to direct the contents of the tank I0 thereto for ilushing action. The flush outlet I5 is normally closed by a valve I6 and this valve has a vertically rising stem Il which rcarries a float I8 at its upper end in the form oi an inverted cup shaped member with its upper end closed and its lower end open. The valve I6, together with its iloat I8, is guided for vertical opening movement by a guide which may be in the form oi a tube I9 secured to and depending from the cover II of the tank I0 and terminating a short distance above the bottom of the tank. yA vent opening is provided in the cover II of the tank and is connected by a pipe 20 with a vent control valve 2| which in turn connects with the pipe 22. The pipe 22 may lead directly to the atmosphere or may be directed elsewhere as will presently be described. The valve 2| is shown as a simple type of valve operable manually to open or close the atmosphere vent by means of a handle 23 .but any simple or quick acting type of valve .may be substituted therefor.

In operation the flush valve I6 and the vent valve 23 are normally closed as shown. Water under pressure isv free to enter the tank I0 through the pipe I4 and will attain a level in the tank and within the guide tube I9 limited by the presence of air in the tank and determined by the exact pressure in the source of supply. For example, as the Water enters adjacent the bottom of the tank the level of the water will rise until the air which cannot escape is compressed to a pressure which equals that of the Water supply. Consequently, the tank will be filled to a point below its topas, for example, may be indicated by the dotted line 2. As the level of the water is rising in the tank and also Within the tube I9, it enters the open bottom of .the cup shaped iloat I3 and also rises within the float to a level determined by the pressure of `air compressed with in its upper closed end. A dotted line 25 is shown in the lloat to indicate approximately the line of the water level therein when the air above such line is compressed by the water pressure below the line. The Weight ol' the valve it and the design of the iioat portion I8 there-of are such that the air entrapped in the float makes sufciently buoyant to raise the valve l5 from its seat under atmospheric pressure. The pressure in the tank lll, however, is substantially greater than atmospheric and overcomes the tendency oi the oat .to open the valve l. When the tank iii islled to capacity with water, a balance of pressures will have been obtained which retains the valve i5 in its closed position.

In order to flush the water from .the tank through the pipe lo, it is only necessary to open the valve 2l which will immediately exhaust the pressure from the upper end of the tubular guide it so that the pressure therein will fall toward A normal atmospheric pressure and the valve it will be raised from its seat by ythe float i8 which will rise to the water level in the tube iii. Ccm sequently, all of the water in the tank lll will be free to discharge through the flush pipe i5 and the discharge of the water will in fact be hastened by the air pressure in the upper portion of the tank. As the level .of the water-in vthe tank lil is lowered because of its discharge, the water level within .the tubular guide iii will also move downwardly and the neat it will return to its normal position with the valve i6 again seating to close the iiush outlet The valve 2l should be maintained open ier only a .short period of time so that after the pushing action has comu inenced the vent will be closed and upon seating of the valve iii the water level will commence rising in the tank to charge it for the next'flushing operation. A spring closed valve may 'be substituted for vthe valve 2l so that it will close autoruatically when it is released.

With the construction herein disclosed, the flush tank is `automatically charged by reason ol' its connection withV a source of water under pressure and the same pressure is eiective to control the operation oi' the flush'valve and also to hasten the water in its discharge irm the tank when the iush valve is open.V T n order to effect the ilushing operation and a subsequent charging of the tank, it is necessary merely to vent the tank to atmosphere momentarily.

The vent control valve 2l should be air tight when it is closed for the `operation herein da scribed. It is not, however, necessary that a perect seal be produced by this valve as, should a slight leak be present vto permit the escape oi a small quantity of air, the water level within the tubular member lil would gradually increase until it reached the and if water leaked through the valve it would pass outwardly through :the

pipe 22. The pipe 22 therefore could be connectedrwith the ush pipe l5 or directly with the toilet bowl or other vessel for reception of the leaking Water. The presence of water lling the tube I9 Would, however, not prevent the operation, as described, so long as it Was not leaking through the vent valve at a rate suiiicient to effect a material reduction of pressure Within the tank.

Under the theory of operation hereinbefore described, it is apparent that successful opening of the flush valve I6 when the vent valve is open depends upon a rather sensitive balance of pres sures and it is conceivable that with the relatively 'high pressure entering the tank through the supply line lll the pressure within the tank when it is filled will be so great that it will tend to hold the ilush valve I6 closed with a greater force than would be overcome by the buoyancy of the oat I8 unless the proportions of the iioat were so large as to be impracticable. Any tendency of the valve IS to be held closed by pressure within the tank lil is, however, overcome by the structure shown wherein the guide tube I9 is shown as `imperf'orate so that there is no communication between the inside of the tube i9 and the tank Hl outside of the tube except through the bottom of the tube. Furthermore, the size of the oat i8 is just slightly smaller than the tube l so that any pressure communicated from the interior vof the tan-k to the upper portion of the tube IS is substantially obstructed bythe float and must be communicated to .the upper portion of the tube i9 through the very small annular channel between the oat and the tube. As .a consequence of this construction, when the vent valve 23 is open to effect ushing of the tank, the pressure within the upper portion of the tube i9 is reduced Without reducing the pressure Ywithin the tank lll and if the valve t5 `remains closed against the tendency of the fioat to raise it through buoyancy alone, the pressure in the tank lll will seek to exhaust itself upwardly through the tube i9. In entering the bottom or the tube l, this pressure is largely obstructed by the presence oi the oat I8 and a sudden and substantial force is applied to the float in addition to the lifting force of its own buoyancy to positively insure raising of the valve. l5 to'permit flushing of the contents of the tank lll.

'il' i tank has been disclosed herein as sealed by cover i arranged at its top. 1t is not intended `that this invention is to be limited by this particular disclosure, however, as the means for permitting access to the tank ill may be arranged at the bottom of the tank rather than the top or, in fact, in any convenient position.

t is believed apparent from the foregoing disclosure iat exact structure of the tank and the structure and arrangement Vof the several outlets and `valves therein need not be exactly as herein described but may be varied consider-- ably within the scope of the invention as it is defined in the appended claims.

claim:

l. A iiush tank comprising a uid tight receptacle, means connecting said receptacle with a source of liquid under pressure, a discharge opening in said receptacle, a valve normally closing said opening, a float normally tending to open said valve but prevented from floating by pressure within the receptacle, and means for venting the receptacle to atmosphere to permit he to open valve.

2. A flush tank comprising a fluid tight receptacle means connecting said receptacle with a source of liquid under pressure whereby the receptacle will normally fill with liquid to a level determined by air trapped in its upper portion, a discharge opening in the bottom of the receptacle, a float valve normally closing said opening and maintained closed by the pressure within the receptacle, and means to vent the receptacle to atmosphere, whereby the float Valve will be permitted to open to ush the liquid contents through said discharge opening.

3. A ush tank of iiuid tight construction comprising means connecting the interior of the tank with a source of liquid underpressure, a iiush opening in the bottom of the tank, a Valve closing said opening, a tubular member depending from the top of the tank to a position above said valve, a iloat connected with the Valve and guided for rising movement in said tubular member, a Vent to atmosphere from the upper part of said tubular member, and a valve for controlling said vent.

L1-.A Hush tank of uid tight construction comprising means for introducing liquid under pressure to the tank, a flush opening in the bottom of the tank, a valve normally closing said opening, a oat connected with said valve and comprising an inverted cup shaped member adapted to be partially filled with liquid rising in the tank whereby air will be entrapped in the oat, a normally closed vent adjacent the top of the tank for maintaining pressure in the tank to prevent the float from opening the iiush valve, and means for opening said vent whereby the float will be eiTective to open said Valve and effect discharge of the liquid through the flush opening.

5. A ush tank of fluid tight construction comprising means for introducing liquid under pressure to trap air under pressure in the upper portion of the tank, a flush valve arranged in the bottom of the tank, a tube extending Vertically in the tank to a point below the normal liquid level therein and open for communication with the tank only at its lower end, a member connected with the flush Valve and substantially obstructing the lower end of said tube, and means for venting the tube to reduce the pressure in its upper end whereby the pressure in the tank will be exerted upwardly against said obstructing member to effect opening of the flush valve.

6. A ush tank comprising a fluid tight receptacle, means connecting said receptacle with a source of liquid under pressure, a iiush opening in the bottoni of said receptacle, a valve normally closing said opening, a tube depending from the top of said receptacle to a point directly over the ush opening, a stem on the valve, an inverted cup shaped member on the stem disposed within the tube and of smaller diameter than the interior of the tube whereby liquid entering the tank will compress air in the top of the tank and tube and will trap air in the inverted cup shaped member to make it buoyant in the liquid, and a valve controlled vent communicating with the upper end of the tube for permitting the buoyant cup shaped member to iioat and unseat the ush valve.

STANLEY H. MOYER. LAWRENCE R. JENSEN.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Knell Dec. 20, 1916 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Apr. 14, 1933 Number N umber 

